Men’s Basketball Wins Fifth-Straight After 85-72 Victory Over Furman
GoMocs- Highlighted by five double-digit scorers, the Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball team continued its winning ways in Southern Conference play after earning an 85-72 victory over league-foe Furman on Saturday afternoon inside McKenzie Arena.
Following the win, Chattanooga (17-8, 9-3 SoCon) has now won five-straight games while completing the regular season sweep over Furman (18-7, 6-6 SoCon). The Mocs moved into a three-way tie with UNCG (9-3) and Samford (9-3) for first place after the Bulldogs fell on the road at ETSU on Saturday.
Trailing 38-35 at the half, Chattanooga put together an offensive and defensive clinic in the second half to outscore Furman 50-34 over the final 20 minutes of play. UTC shot an efficient 58.1% (18-of-31) from the floor in the second half, 48.5% (32-of-66) for the game, while limiting the Paladins to a lowly 30.3% (10-of-33) field goal mark including a 17.4% (4-of-23) tally from deep during the closing half.
It was another balanced attack across the board for Chattanooga as five different Mocs reached double figures. Garrison Keeslar (15) led the way and was joined by Frank Champion (14), Trey Bonham (14), Honor Huff (12) and Jack Kostel (10) with Champion adding a team-high seven rebounds and six assists in the win.
RECORD UPDATE – Chattanooga 17-8, 9-3 SoCon ∙ Furman 18-7, 6-6 SoCon
SERIES HISTORY – 101st Meeting ∙ Chattanooga leads 60-41 all-time.
FIRST HALF KEY MOMENTS
∙ Chattanooga turned Furman over three times in the first few minutes to help build an early 11-6 lead (15:11) at the first media timeout.
∙ Jack Kostel cleaned up a miss with a put-back, and-one layup to record his 1,000th career point at the NCAA level and give UTC a 19-9 (10:57) lead.
∙ Furman answered with an 8-0 run over the next two-plus minutes to trim its deficit to just two, 19-17 (8:29), before the Mocs regained a seven-point edge, 24-17 (7:20), with a Frank Champion layup and Garrison Keeslar triple.
∙ After UTC claimed a 31-24 (4:33) lead, Furman stormed back with an 11-0 run in less than a two-minute span to jump ahead 35-31 (2:40) to force the hosts into a timeout.
HALF: Furman 38, Chattanooga 35 – Paladins went 8-of-14 (57.1%) from 3PT; shot 53.6% (15-of-28) in total.
SECOND HALF KEY MOMENTS
∙ The two teams combined for a 10-of-16 start from the field in the second half’s first few minutes as Chattanooga held a 49-48 lead at the 15:18 mark.
∙ The Mocs and Paladins continued to trade points over the next three-plus minutes as UTC continued to hang on to a slight lead, 56-53, with 11:46 left in the contest.
∙ Kostel capped off a quick 5-0 run with a spinning layup to give the hosts a double-digit lead, 64-54 (10:29), and force Furman into a timeout.
∙ Chattanooga went on a 12-5 run and capped it off with a Trey Bonham three to help amount the largest lead of the game, 80-65 (3:36).
∙ Hometown hero Parker Robison provided the game’s dagger on a corner three with 1:00 left to finish off the 85-72 victory.
FINAL: Chattanooga 85, Furman 72 – UTC outscored Furman 50-36 in the half; shot 58.1% (18-of-31) from the field.
